| 1 | 1 | | 85R4074 JRJ-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: West S.B. No. 534 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to authorization by the Texas Higher Education |
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| 8 | 8 | | Coordinating Board for certain public junior colleges to offer |
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| 9 | 9 | | early childhood education baccalaureate degree programs. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 130.0012, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 12 | 12 | | adding Subsections (b-4), (b-5), (b-6), and (g-1) and amending |
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| 13 | 13 | | Subsection (g) to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (b-4) The coordinating board shall authorize a |
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| 15 | 15 | | baccalaureate degree program in early childhood education at each |
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| 16 | 16 | | public junior college located in a county with a population of 2.2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | million or more and adjacent to a county with a population of more |
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| 18 | 18 | | than 600,000 if: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (1) the county in which the public junior college is |
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| 20 | 20 | | located has a demonstrated initial need for at least 2,400 early |
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| 21 | 21 | | childhood educators based on the number of unserved children |
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| 22 | 22 | | eligible for public early childhood education, assuming, only for |
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| 23 | 23 | | purposes of calculating the need, a student to teacher ratio of 12 |
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| 24 | 24 | | to 1; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2) the degree program curriculum is approved by the |
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| 26 | 26 | | independent school districts located in the county that |
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| 27 | 27 | | collectively represent at least 51 percent of the student |
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| 28 | 28 | | population enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade; and |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) one of the following: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (A) before November 1, 2017, a regional public |
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| 31 | 31 | | university located in the county in which the public junior college |
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| 32 | 32 | | is located or an immediately adjacent county is unable to obtain the |
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| 33 | 33 | | approval of the independent school districts located in the county |
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| 34 | 34 | | in which the public junior college is located that collectively |
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| 35 | 35 | | represent at least 51 percent of the student population enrolled in |
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| 36 | 36 | | kindergarten through 12th grade for a detailed plan to: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (i) expand degree output of early childhood |
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| 38 | 38 | | and elementary certified teachers to collectively meet the |
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| 39 | 39 | | three-year average hiring demands of the independent school |
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| 40 | 40 | | districts located in the county in which the public junior college |
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| 41 | 41 | | is located and immediately adjacent counties, including producing |
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| 42 | 42 | | more prekindergarten teachers to support the planned increases in |
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| 43 | 43 | | prekindergarten enrollment for all public schools; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (ii) implement an early childhood education |
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| 45 | 45 | | curriculum; and |
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| 46 | 46 | | (iii) fund the expansion of current or |
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| 47 | 47 | | development of new early childhood education programs, which does |
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| 48 | 48 | | not include state funding for new facilities; or |
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| 49 | 49 | | (B) before September 1, 2019, a regional public |
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| 50 | 50 | | university that received the approval of independent school |
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| 51 | 51 | | districts as described by Paragraph (A) is unable to demonstrate: |
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| 52 | 52 | | (i) the necessary current student |
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| 53 | 53 | | enrollment to produce sufficient early childhood and elementary |
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| 54 | 54 | | certified teachers within the next four years to meet the existing |
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| 55 | 55 | | hiring demands of the independent school districts located in the |
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| 56 | 56 | | county in which the public junior college is located and |
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| 57 | 57 | | immediately adjacent counties based on historical three-year |
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| 58 | 58 | | averages, including producing more prekindergarten teachers to |
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| 59 | 59 | | support the planned increases in prekindergarten enrollment for all |
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| 60 | 60 | | public schools; and |
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| 61 | 61 | | (ii) implementation of an early childhood |
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| 62 | 62 | | education curriculum meeting the expressed needs of the independent |
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| 63 | 63 | | school districts located in the county in which the public junior |
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| 64 | 64 | | college is located that collectively represent at least 51 percent |
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| 65 | 65 | | of the student population enrolled in kindergarten through 12th |
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| 66 | 66 | | grade. |
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| 67 | 67 | | (b-5) A degree program created under Subsection (b-4) may |
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| 68 | 68 | | not be authorized by the State Board for Educator Certification |
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| 69 | 69 | | under Chapter 21 for a certification field above the third grade |
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| 70 | 70 | | level. |
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| 71 | 71 | | (b-6) The coordinating board may not subsequently terminate |
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| 72 | 72 | | authorization to offer an early childhood baccalaureate degree |
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| 73 | 73 | | program granted under Subsection (b-4) on the ground that |
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| 74 | 74 | | implementation of the degree program reduces the workforce need to |
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| 75 | 75 | | a level that is below the minimal threshold specified in Subsection |
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| 76 | 76 | | (b-4)(1). |
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| 77 | 77 | | (g) Except as provided by Subsection (g-1), in [In] its |
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| 78 | 78 | | recommendations to the legislature relating to state funding for |
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| 79 | 79 | | public junior colleges, the coordinating board shall recommend that |
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| 80 | 80 | | a public junior college receive substantially the same state |
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| 81 | 81 | | support for junior-level and senior-level courses offered under |
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| 82 | 82 | | this section as that provided to a general academic teaching |
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| 83 | 83 | | institution for substantially similar courses. In determining the |
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| 84 | 84 | | contact hours attributable to students enrolled in a junior-level |
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| 85 | 85 | | or senior-level course offered under this section used to determine |
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| 86 | 86 | | a public junior college's proportionate share of state |
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| 87 | 87 | | appropriations under Section 130.003, the coordinating board shall |
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| 88 | 88 | | weigh those contact hours as necessary to provide the junior |
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| 89 | 89 | | college the appropriate level of state support to the extent state |
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| 90 | 90 | | funds for those courses are included in the appropriations. This |
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| 91 | 91 | | subsection does not prohibit the legislature from directly |
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| 92 | 92 | | appropriating state funds to support junior-level and senior-level |
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| 93 | 93 | | courses offered under this section. |
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| 94 | 94 | | (g-1) A degree program created under Subsection (b-4) may be |
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| 95 | 95 | | funded only by a public junior college's proportionate share of |
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| 96 | 96 | | state appropriations under Section 130.003, local funds, and |
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| 97 | 97 | | private sources. This subsection does not require the legislature |
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| 98 | 98 | | to appropriate state funds to support a degree program created |
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| 99 | 99 | | under Subsection (b-4). |
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| 100 | 100 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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